International Society for Third-Sector Research

The International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR), founded in 1992, is an international association that is dedicated to promoting research and education on civil society, philanthropy, and the nongovernmental sector. ISTR works to unite scholars and researchers to exchange ideas and advance knowledge on both a local and international scale, regarding the third sector, human welfare and international development.

Since its founding, ISTR has been housed at The Johns Hopkins University, most currently residing under the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Institute for Health and Social Policy. According to their website, ISTR’s mission is “to increase, share, and apply knowledge about the Third Sector in all countries of the world” and to build a global community of scholars and researchers for the advancement of knowledge and discussions regarding the Third Sector, and its global impact.

ISTR holds biennial conferences as well as Regional Network meetings, allowing locally focused researchers to meet and discuss region-specific issues. Additionally, the organization is working to increase the number of third sector researchers from the developing world and East and Central Europe. Both the international and regionally held meetings, along with other ISTR-led endeavors, comprise a large part of achieving the organization’s vision.

Currently, ISTR has nearly 900 members from 76 countries globally. The organization has been recognized for its role in shaping development globally through the research of its members.

According to the organization Learning To Give, the main aim of the network has been to create a space for collaboration in order to understand and make use of the positive impact of the third sector. In this regard, “ISTR has almost single handedly changed the face of the third-sector around the globe. Associations are no longer forced to operate on information islands with little communication exchange, since the ISTR has opened up a dialogue for scholars and practitioners who benefit from one another on an international basis”.

ISTR was admitted as an affiliate member of the American Council of Learned Societies in 1997. Aside from being a member of numerous civil society groups, ISTR is itself composed of a network of researchers, other civil society actors, and students. Other research networks that collaborate with ISTR include the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), and the EMES International Research. Provided by Wikipedia